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Size:
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Up to 6' high by the spreading.
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Habit of Growth:
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It produces suckers freely, these multiple stems creating an ever widening rounded clump of indeterminate width. Over time the tightly packed stems will form an impenetrable thicket. The needle palm doesn't form a trunk but instead has a slowly lengthening crown that may grow to about 4 ft (1.2 m) long and about 7 in (17.8 cm) in diameter.
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Light Requirements:
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Full to partial shade.
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Soil Requirements:
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Needs moist, well-drained soil with lots of organic matter in order to grow best, but can be tolerant of dry conditions.
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Water Requirements:
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Established plants are drought tolerant and are perfect for shady xeriscape plantings.
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Cold Tolerance:
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USDA Zones 8 - 10.
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Landscape Uses:
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The needle palm is a perfect, low maintenance plant that makes an excellent specimen plant for small spaces near the patio or entryways. In the shade garden the needle palm provides a rich green backdrop of flowering plants and it blends beautifully with azaleas and camellias in the filtered light under a high canopy of pine.
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Special Attributes:
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Mass plantings of needle palm can also serve as security hedges. The thick growth and lethal needle form and impenetrable barrier that will deter most creatures, especially human.
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